82444: He is living in a foreign country and there is no halaal meat available; is there a concession allowing him to eat non-halaal meat?

I am in a foreign country where I am staying for a year and a half for the purpose of study. There is no halaal meat here. Can I eat or not? Please note that dhabh (halaal slaughter) is banned here.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

If the study
you need is available in a Muslim country, then it is not permissible for
you to travel to a kaafir country for that purpose. It is haraam for you to
stay among the kuffaar unless it is essential for medical treatment,
business, da’wah or study that is not available in a Muslim country and that
you cannot do without. It is also essential to ensure that the circumstances
of your study are Islamically acceptable, i.e., no mixing. Perhaps this is
rare or non-existent in the country, which leads to loss of shyness in women
and heedlessness with regard to loss of morals and the spread of lethal
diseases.

If you do go
there, it is not permissible for you to eat meat that is not slaughtered in
accordance with Islamic sharee’ah. The fact that there is no halaal meat is
not an excuse for you, because you can eat fish and seafood, or you can eat
things other than meat, such as canned goods and vegetables, or you can look
seriously for an Islamic centre that provides halaal meat to the Muslims.